Expectations
by EmbattledCurve
Summary: Tomoyo struggles to make herself more attractive to the opposite sex, within her boundaries, without undergoing a radical transformation. Secretly she hopes to be accepted by a man for just who she is. Will Touya be that man?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She was late. Very late. She had been forced to have a quick shower. No time to stare at her limited wardrobe and pick and choose. Quickly choosing a beige skirt and a white blouse, she ran her brush through her hair. Clipping on a pair of stud earrings, she hopped into a pair of sandals. Grabbing her bag, she was out of the door.

She was supposed to meet Meiling. She would be wasting more time trying to find the way to her apartment. Meiling had moved sometime last week. She had been complaining about the leaking ceiling for quite sometime now. Meiling had called her last week, with a business proposition.

Tomoyo was an artist by profession. And Meiling had wanted a couple of oils in her new apartment, and so she had decided to commission Tomoyo's works. And before Tomoyo painted anything for a new customer, she always met the individual, asked him or her about preferences and if there was something in particular that they wanted, and got a general feel of the apartment. Also it was important to know the environment. For e.g. a painting put up in a business setting would be very different from that put up casually in the room of a teenager.

After driving around for quite sometime in the busy streets of Tokyo, she finally found the place. Quickly parking her car, she ran up the stairs to the second floor, locating the apartment door and knocked loudly.

A very well-dressed Meiling answered.

'Meiling I'm sorry I'm late, I got caught in the traffic.'

'Relax Tomoyo. This is a very informal meeting.'

Tomoyo kicked off her sandals, and walked around the apartment.

'I really like what you've done with the place Meiling.' The living room had a number of sofas and comfortable armchairs, with the colour combination being orange and black.

'It would look a lot better with a couple of your paintings around. I've told you so many times to put up an exhibition. Why don't you do so? Any art gallery would be willing to rent it to you for a couple of days.'

'It's too much trouble. I prefer it this way, where I work at my pace. So what exactly are you looking for?'

'I don't know whatever you think looks good.'

'How come you finally decided to move into your own apartment?'

'I was getting really tired of leaking ceilings, unruly tenants and surly landlords. For god's sake I couldn't even hold a party if I wanted to. That irritating old man kept complaining about the noise, about the people. How can I hold a party without music?'

Tomoyo smiled wryly. Meiling was quite the social butterfly.

'So let me guess, you're throwing a party sometime in the coming week?'

'You bet I am. Infact it's tomorrow night. You can think of it as a house-warming party.'

'Meiling any excuse will do for you, just as long as you can throw a party. I'm sure a funeral will do too.'

At the thought Meiling smiled wickedly. 'Now girl, you don't want to give me ideas, believe me you don't. Which reminds me, what are you wearing to the party tomorrow?'

'What do you mean what am I wearing? Clothes.'

'Very intelligent. Have you thought of anything specific?'

'No. You mentioned the party just two minutes ago. I'll decide tomorrow evening.'

'No you won't.'

'What do you mean by that?' Tomoyo demanded. Unlike Meiling who seemed to possess endless energy and money to shop for clothes, she did not. And frankly she did not use every living breath to plan her outfits. As long as she was presentable she was not concerned.

Meiling sighed. Tomoyo could really be difficult at times. 'Girl what I'm trying to tell you is, for once in your life make an honest effort to look radiant, amazing, extraordinary, out of this world. For once in your life try to make an impression. Not for the men, but for yourself. Feel good about yourself.'

'I do make or atleast try to make an impression with my paintings', Tomoyo said softly and a little hurt. 'Is that not enough?'

Meiling moved towards her friend, and placed her hand on her young friend's shoulder. 'I'm not saying that you don't make an impression with your paintings, you do. But my dear, that is what you are, not who you are. You are a very talented artist, but it does not say anything about you as a woman. It won't be a bad thing for the world to sit up and take notice of that fact, every once in a while.'

'Okay', Tomoyo conceded seeing her friend had a point, 'I'll make an effort this time.'

'Good, want to join me for coffee?'

'Make it tea', called out Tomoyo, as her friend disappeared into the kitchen. She walked around the apartment, mentally trying to decide what exactly she should paint for her friend. She was also keeping in mind her friends vibrant personality.

She sat down on the bed, in the bedroom. The colours were in mauve, and she couldn't but help go over what her friend had told her. _Your paintings are what you are, not who you are._ It was a fair assessment that she had never in her life, tried to make an effort to look pretty or radiant. She could simply not be bothered. She had always thought that narcissism was a colossal waste of time. She did not believe in caking on layers of make-up.

Getting up, she walked towards the mirror, and glanced at herself critically. Her blouse and skirt, though well cut, were very plain. She was exactly that, a plain Jane. Only one word came to her mind, dowdy. Disturbed she looked away from the mirror. Was that how the rest of the world perceived her? Suddenly she realized that she had a lot of introspection to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tomoyo sipped her glass of champagne quietly. A cool breeze fluttered, blowing her hair gently. The view of the city was astounding. All those lights in the distance, so far away and yet so near. She placed her glass on the window sill. The noise and the revelry behind her seemed distant. So lost in her thoughts was she, that she failed to notice the shadow beside her, that is until it spoke.

'A penny for your thoughts?'

Startled, she turned to gaze at the dark shadow next to her. She smiled. Touya Kinomoto. Ever since she left high school, she had hardly seen him. They used to meet when she was younger and visited Sakura quite often. And she had always been slightly in awe of him. He had always seemed like such an enigma. And when Sakura got married to Syaoran and moved to China, they had lost touch altogether. They didn't even run into each other socially, for she was really not the partying type. She found herself wondering if he was. He hadn't really changed. He was as handsome as ever, infact if possible, maybe even a little more.

'If someone offered me a penny, for every thought, I would be a millionaire many times over.'

'Let's drink to that' and Touya raised his glass. She raised hers in acknowledgement.

She sipped at her champagne once more. As she felt the liquid run down her throat, she was left with a strange sensation. She attributed it to the fact that she hardly ever drank. She preferred soaking in the visual delights of the city in front of her.

'Your glass is almost untouched' commented Touya. His own, was half empty.

She shrugged. 'I'm not much of a drinker, social or otherwise.'

'So why the exception today?'

In response, she toyed with her glass. She was not sure if she really wanted to answer that. A part of her urged her to. But to be honest, she felt like she was a stranger, to herself if that was possible. Why was she even there? Because Meiling had insisted? But she could have always refused politely, like she did to numerous other invitations. So what had changed? She wasn't quite sure.

'If truth be told, everything about you, is an exception today.' Touya observed her critically. Setting his glass aside on the window sill, he leaned forward, resting his elbows against the window, drinking in the city delights himself. Staring at the setting sun, as the fiery orange dipped below the horizon.

'What do you mean?' she questioned a tad defensively.

He looked at her penetratively. She shivered slightly. At was as though he were peeking into her very soul. His answer was a slow drawl, one she had heard many times before, when he had been explaining something very patiently to Sakura. Only it was a little modified. But she still felt slightly irritated. She was not in any mood to be patronized.

'Well for starters, I don't think you're the party type. Infact I'm quite sure that this is the only one you've attended since high school. Am I right?'

She nodded her head slowly, but was swift to counteract him. 'How can you be so sure? Maybe we weren't invited to the same social gatherings, and even if we were, were you present at all of them?'

He shrugged. 'You're quite right in your assessment. My job as a researcher does not allow me the luxury of dancing the night away.'

Struck by curiosity, she questioned softly, 'What do you research?'

'New pharmaceutical advancements and their effects on the human immune system.'

'Interesting. Which only means that it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black', she said grinning.

'You're no kettle, black or otherwise.'

She looked at him quizzically.

'Tomoyo, I'm sure you're aware that you look simply fabulous tonight. I'm certain your boyfriend must be enduring stabs of jealousy, watching us together like this.'

She blushed slightly, taken aback by the unexpected compliment. It was true that she had taken a little effort that night. She had decided to wear a dark green dress, slightly low cut. She had put on a pair of matching earrings, and a lovely pendant nestled between her breasts. She had strapped on a pair of heels and had left her hair open, which made her look, somehow vulnerable.

She took in a deep breath of the cool night air. 'No not really. I'm still single.' She glanced sideways at him. He was very casually dressed, in a pair of black jeans, an olive green shirt, a jacket and loafers. She could not deny that he did make her pulse race, just a little bit. 'What about you? Are you sure your girlfriend isn't going to storm out of here in a fit, seeing us together like this?'

'I don't think so. For starters I don't have one.'

'Oh.' That was the only response that she could think of. 'What else seems to be an exception about me tonight?' She couldn't help asking. Unexplainably, she felt drawn to him.

He watched her silky hair rise and fall with the gusts of wind. If he leaned in, just a little bit closer, he would be able to smell her perfume. Abruptly he straightened. 'Let's just say everything.'

Lifting his glass, he drank the rest in one swift gulp. Setting the empty glass down, he turned to face her. 'I'm going to call it a night. I have to be in my office early tomorrow morning. Would you like to walk back with me? If my recollection is right you live just a block way from my apartment. That is if you want to, and if you haven't got your car.'

She looked at him reflectively. There was something different about that night. It was almost magical. And she was afraid that the bubble would burst any minute. She could not remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so much. And she did not want it to end. She found herself nodding in acceptance, leaving her still almost full glass behind.


End file.
